Shadow Of The Day:The Story of Tsuzuki and Katlaya
by LunarLotus123
Summary: Tsuzuki is a misfit nin who believes she is part of the Nara clan. Unfortunately, though she's Shikamaru's 'twin', they are nothing alikke. Katlaya is a transfer nin from Sunagakure who finds a long lost relative. This is the story of their friendship.
1. Confusion

"Nya! Take that Iruka sensei!!" A girl with bright purple hair and red eyes ran down the street beside her friends Naruto, Kiba, Chouji, and her brother Shikamaru. Despite the fact that the two looked nothing alike, no one dared question the two Nara's relations.

"GET BACK HERE OR YOU'LL BE SORRY!" Iruka ran after them as well as Mizuki, both looked mildly aggitated.

Naruto looked at his friends, "You guys, we'll split up! Kiba and me'll go this way, Tsuzuki, you Shika, and Chouji'll go that way, let's see if we can lose 'em!"

"You got it,'' Shakmaru replied turning the corner. Chouji and Tsuzuki flolowed close behind.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the village gates, a girl with blond hair, blue eyes, and whiskers similair to Naruto's was just ariving. She walked over to what looked like a small booth, "Excuse me, is this Konohagakure?"

Two chunin looked up from their paper work and smirked, "Gotcha Naruto!" The girl looked shocked, "Wha- Who's Naruto!" Before she could get an answer the two of them grabbed the girl and dragged her off to the academy.

* * *

Chouji, Shika and Tsuzuki stopped in an alleyway, breathing heavily. Chouji then breathed a sigh of relief, "I think we lost 'em."

"Lost who?" Mizuki asked from behind them.

Shikamaru cried out and spun around to see the purple haired chunin standing thre so calmly.

Tsuzuki started cursing as she sttempted to make anther run for it. As she rounded the corner, Iruka kicked her to the ground, "Nice try, Nara."

Groaning in frustration, Tsuzuki just la yhtere for a moment, "Dam,n you sensei. . ."

* * *

"So then class. We will now review Transformation jutsu's," Iruka stated with a sigh.

Shika, Chouji, Kiba, Naruto and Tsuzuki all sat tied down to their seats.

Just then two chunin carrying thew blonde girl from the gate, "Yo Iruka. We got Naruto for ya."

Iruka looked over, mildly confused, "But Naruto is right there. . ."

The girl growled in anger, "I TOLD YOU I'M NOT NARUTO DAMMIT! I DON'T EVEN KNOW THE KID!!!!!"

Seeing their mistake, the two chunin apologized and left, taking the girl to the Hokage./

Naruto just stared for a moment, "Who was that?"

TO BE CONTINUED!!! DUN DUN DUN!!!!


	2. Loathing

Later that day, Tsuzuki and Naruto were walking towards the ramen bar. They had been discussing that girl the Chunin had mistaken for Naruto.

"You ask me it was a simple mistake. I mean," Naruto paused, "Gah! My head hurts!"

Tsuzuki chucjkled, "Bakairo! I told you you were gonna hurt youself."

Just then Mizuki appeared in front of her, "Got some news for you Tsuzuki."

The purple haired genin sighed, "What is it?"

"You're on the same swuad as Katlaya Uzukami, Eric Mikamiashiki, Katelynne Kimisagashi, and Katherine Kimisagishi," he explained calmly.

Tsuzuki's face drowned of ALL color, "Wha-. . .Oh I get ! Hahaha! Good one sensei."

The lack of response from Mizuki answered the awkward silence that fell over them.

Naruto had already gone ahead of them to avoid injury, "I'm soooo not getting into the middle of that." "YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!!!" Naruto turned his head, debating on going to help, then kept going to the ramen bar.

"Hey Laya chan. Long time no see." Katherine, Katelynne and Eric stood there, smiling their usual mischevious smiles.

Katlaya turned her head slightly, "Oh, hey guys. What's up?"

"You were placed on our squad," Katherine said, looking away in distaste.

"Oh? That's gre-" She was cut off by Eric holding a hand up, "Sadly, Tsuzuki is on our team too."

"Who's Tsuzuki?" A look of perplexion crossed the blonde nin's face.

Katherine sighed, "She's Shikamaru's twin sister."

Katelynne added, "A total bitch. She always picks fights with the three of us."

Eric nodded, "Not to mention she acts like a cold hearted snake."

Katlaya shuddered, 'You're kidding right?"

The three of them shook their heads, " We're supposed to meet up as a group at the training grounds." Grudgingly, they all left.

Tsuzuki was already there, leaning against a tree, "They'd better hurry up.

Katlaya was the first to arrive. Immedeatly her and Tszuki made eye contact. Sparks were flying in seconds.

In her mind, Katlaya felt a strange sensation overwhelming her,  
_What is this feeling, So sudden and new?_

Tsuzuki also felt a strange hatred within her

_I felt the moment I laid eyes on you;_

Katlaya immedeatly placed a hand on her chest,

_My pulse is rushing;_

Tsuzuki rubbed her forehead a bit,

_My head is reeling;_

Katlaya felt her cheeks get warm,

_My face is flushing;_

Both of them glared darkly at each other and out loud started singing,  
_What is this feeling?  
Fervid as a flame,  
Does it have a name?  
Yes! Loathing  
Unadulterated loathing  
_

Katlaya put a finger on Tsuzuki's forehead,

_For your face;_

Tsuzuki then slapped a hand over Katlaya's mouth,

_Your voice;_

Katlaya slapped her hand away and pointed to Tsuzuki's tank top,

_Your clothing;_

Sparks began flying between them,

_Let's just say - I loathe it all  
Ev'ry little trait, however small  
Makes my very flesh begin to crawl  
With simple utter loathing  
There's a strange exhilaration  
In such total detestation  
It's so pure, so strong!  
Though I do admit it came on fast  
Still I do believe that it can last  
And I will be loathing  
Loathing you_

_My whole life long!_

Eric sighed and placed a hand on Ktlaya's shoulder,

Dear Katlkaya you are just too good,  
How do you stand it? I don't think I could!

Katherine croshed her arms and glared at Tsuzuki,

She's a terror! She's a Tartar!  
We don't mean to show a bias,

Katelynne shrugged and placed a hand on her hip,

_But Katlaya, you're a martyr!_

Katlya smirked cruelly, then put on an innocent smile,

_Well, these things are sent to try us!_

Tsuzuki glared coldly at them, "What was that?"

The trio surrounding Katlaya all sighed,

_Poor Galinda, forced to reside  
With someone so disgusticified  
We just want to tell you:  
We're all on your side!  
We share your;_

Tsuzuki and Katlaya then got in eachothers faces,  
_ What is this feeling  
So sudden and new?  
I felt the moment I laid eyes on you  
My pulse is rushing  
My head is reeling  
Oh, what is this feeling?  
Does it have a name?  
Yes  
Ahhh  
_  
Eric, Katherine, and Katelynne all stood there watching.  
_Loathing Unadulterated loathing  
For her face, her voice, her clothing  
let's just say - we loathe it all  
ev'ry little trait however small  
makes our very flesh being to crawl  
AHHH!  
_  
Tsuzuki and Katlaya then spun away from each other so that they were facing opposite directions,  
_There's a strange exhilaration_  
_In such total detestation _  
_It's so pure, so strong _

They then glared at each other once more,

_Though I do admit it came on fast  
Still I do believe that it can last  
And I will be..._  
_Loathing,_

_For forever...  
Loathing,  
Truly deeply loathing you  
loathing you  
My whole Life long!_

Just then a clone of Tsuzuki popped up behind Katlaya,

_Boo!_

Kaltaya cried out in surprise and fell to the ground.

TO BE CONTINUED. . .


	3. Great start?

"YOU JERK!! WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?!?!?" Katlaya stood there, her eyes dead set on Tsuzuki and filled with extreme hatred.

"You left yourself WIDE open," Tsuzuki remarked calmly with a shrug.

Katherine, Eric, and Kattleynne all stood back a good 20 feet to avoid injury.

As the two genin bickered endlessly, a middle aged woman entered the clearing, "Hey! Is this Squad 13!?"

This caused the quarelling teens to stop, then Katlaya spoke up, "Yeah, what's it to you, grandma?"

Tsuzuki groaned in frustration, "Smooth blondie. Hey Anko, ple-"

She was ut off by Anko grabbing Katlaya and pinning her to the ground, "Alright! Listen up! The name is Mitarashi Anko, not grandma! And I'm your sensei. . .GOT IT!?!?!"

Eric had a look of awe and horror on his face, "You're kidding right?"

The look he recieved was answer enough from her.

Katherine walked over, "Excuse me, Mitarashi san. . .could you let Laya chan go?"

"Fine, but in the future, you WILL refer to me as Anko sensei. And sucking up won't work either Katherine," the jounin snapped standing up.

Katlaya groaned in pain, "Owwww. . .that really hurt dammit."

Tsuzuki sighed, "As I was aying earlier Anko sensei, ignore the blonde brats atitude problems. She's just as annoying as her flunkies over there," the purple haired girl remarked jabbing her thumb back towards Eric and the twins.

"Is that so?" Anko muttered looking them up and down, "Well, time to break 'em in."

Kattleynne glared at Tsuzuki, "How come you get to act so relaxed around her?"

"Anko's been helping me train since I was 5," Tsuzuki replied with a yawn.

"Yeah, but that don't mean you get to treat me like you treat them," Anko snapped smacking Tsuzuki upside the head.

Katlaya stifled a laugh, "How's it feel, toothpick?"

"What was that, Laya pig!?"

"SHINOBI WANNABE!!"

"STUPID WHORE!!"

"IGNORANT ASSHOLE!!"

"CRAZY BITCH!!!"

"FUCKING SLUT!!!"

As the two contiued to trade insults, Anko had already started training the other three.

To be continued. . .


	4. Hello?

After her and Katlaya stopped fighting, Tsuzuki started home.

In her mind, she was dreading it. As usual her father would just put her down for her lack of skill, she'd probablly lock herself in her room, then later, sneak out to hang out with her friends.

As she slowly walked, Katlaya followed in the shadows.

Tsuzuki opened the door to the Nara house slowly.

Her dad sat at the table and glanced up dissapointedly, "So the failure returns."

"Just leave me alone," Tsuzuki muttered taking her sandals off.

"I don't even know why you even bothered joining up in the academy. Shikamaru got better grades than you," he muttered drinking some of his sake.

Katlaya watched all this from the window out of sight, _Wow, she's got it kinda tough._

"Dad, please. I've had a rough day. I just want to get some rest," the purple haired girl replied trying not to burst into tears.

Ignoring her, Tsuzuki's dad went back to reading the scroll in front of him

Before he said anything else, Tsuzuki hurried upto her room and locked the door.

Katlaya followed from the outside and sat outside her window, keeping to the shadows.

The troubled teen walked over and sat on her bed. In the distance she heard the Academy chool bell ringing, signaling time for the kids to leave.

She then held a kunai in her hand.

_What is she doing!?_ Katlaya thought, a strange fear residing in the back of her mind.

Tsuzuki glanced from the knife to her wrist, then back at the knife.

Under her breath, she started singing a slow dark song to herself,

_**Playground school bell rings again**_

_**Rain clouds come to play again  
**_

_**Has no one told you she's not breathing?  
**_

_**Hello, I'm your mind giving you someone to talk to  
**_

_**Hello**_

_**If I smile and don't believe**_

_**Soon I know I'll wake from this dream**_

_**Don't try to fix me, I'm not broken  
**_

_**Hello, I'm the lie living for you so you can hide  
**_

_**Don't cry**_

Suddenly I know I'm not sleeping  


_**Hello, I'm still here  
**_

_**All that's left of yesterday**_

Hearing the words that came from her teammate, Katlaya felt she understood Tsuzuki a bit better now.

Tsuzuki sat, staring at the knife once thoughts played with the idea of what it would feel like to have the cool metal slicing through her flesh.

Katlaya glanced in the window just as Tsuzuki began to place the metal against her wrist, "HEY!!!"

Tsuzuki had started to move the dagger, but jumped as Katlaya burst into the room, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"What do you think!? Keeping you from going suicidal!" the blonde girl snapped angrily.

Tsuzuki tightened the grip on her kunai, "You don't understand. . .YOUR NOTHING BUT A STRANGER HERE AND YOU'LL NEVER UNDERSTAND ANYTHING!!!!"

To be continued!!! DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	5. Reasons

After a while, Tsuzuki stopped running. She was standing beside the memorial stone, a place she had hoped to avoid at all costs.

"What's your problem!? Katlaya snapped catching upto her team mate, "You try and kill yourself then. . ." She had paused, seeing her team mate entranced in the memorial before her.

"H. . .her name is here. . ." Tsuzuki said quietly under her breath, "Her name. . ."

"Whose name?" Katlaya asked walking over to Tsuzuki.

Silently, Tsuzuki knelt in front of the stone and ran her fingers over one of the names, _Yumi Reina._

"Reina? Whose she?" the blond hirl asked almost to herself.

"Reina. . .Reina was my friend," the indigo haired girl explained trying to fight back the tears, "She saved my life. . ."

Katlaya wanted to say something, but chose to remain silent. It was apparent that despite her hardships in life, Tsuzuki had just as many.

Pushing back her sobs, Tsuzuki stood up and turned to leave. She cast one more glance at Katlaya, then hurried away.

Katlaya watched Tsuzuki leave, but didn't persue her this time. She just stood there, staring at the stone with the names of so many lost shinobi enscribed upon it's cold face.

* * *

"Hey,Tsuzuki, you okay?" Shikamaru was sitting with his sister at the tea house, to his surprise she was pretty withdrawn.

"Hm? I'm fine, just tired," Tsuzuki explained taking a small bite if dumpling, "Why do you ask?"

"You usually go off about now about Sasuke or something," the dark haired boy replied with a sigh, "Did dad say something?"

"No. It. . ." She cut herself off, thinking about what she had discussed with Katlaya.

"Ya know. I think Rei'd be kinda ticked if she saw you neing THIS emo."

"Ah shaddup already! Geez, you sound like mom!" Tsuzuki explained with an over exagerated groan.

After a while, they headed for their uual hangout to meet up with Chouji.

Up on the rooftop, the red head genin was waiting for them, "Hey guys! What's up?"

Tsuzuki and Shikamaru shrugged at the same time, "Not much."

Chouji blinked for a minute, then groaned, "You guys have got to cut that out! It's creepy!"

"What a drag," they replied, again, in unison.

"SERIOUSLY!! Your freaking me out here!" Chouji snapped playfully.

The trio paused, then began laughing together.

After a while, Shikamaru spoke up, "So, Tsuzuki. Heard ya got stuck with that Uzukami chick."

"Sadly yes. She's really damn annoying. She's nosy, stuck up, not to mention she's got Eric, Katherine and Katylynne for lackeys," his sister explained looking at a few assing by clouds.

"Really? Wow. We only got Ino on our squad," Chouji replied as he noticed a bright blue butterfly hovering over his hand.

"I'd take the bimbo over the ditzes any day," Tsuzuki said quietly as she noticed the small butterfly leave Chouji's hand and land on her finger.

Shikamaru excused himself and went to go find something else to do.

Tsuzuki tried her hardest to not to blush as Chouji gazed at her.

"So . . .T-Tsuzuki," Chouji said quietly trying to get the guts to ask her out, "Are you-"

"Your late!!!!" Anko cried appearing in front of Tsuzuki, "I TOLD YOU TO MEET ME AT THREE!!! IT'S THREE TEN!!!!"

Tsuzuki cried out and fell back, "What the crap Sensei!? I was just on my way!!!"

"SHUT UP!! You think you can put it off?" Ignoring Chouji, Anko grabbed the young genin and dissapeared.

* * *

"What was that fo-" Tsuzuki was cut off by Anko grabbing her colar.

"You idiot! I have to reseal your mark!!" Anko barked angrily as she held her student up close to her face.

There was a thick silence as Tsuzuki listened to this, then she pulled away, "I know! You don't have to remind me."

Anko ignored her snide coment and finished setting up what looked like a sealing ceremony.

Tsuzuki removed her tank top and kneeled in the center. On her shoulder was a dark black mark. The hokage told her it was a birth mark that would disturb her chakra and had to be sealed bi-monthly.

Anko smirked and bit her finger, "Here we go." She then made a few handsigns and placed her hand on Tsuzuki's shoulder. As she did, the writing on the floor glowed red and crawled up the genin's skin.

Tsuzuki clenched her fists in pain, a few drops of blood running onto her pants leg.

Once the seal finished setting in, Anko removed her hand and sighed, "Was it THAT bad?"

"I. . .I'm fine," Tsuzuki managed to mutter, still trembling in pain.

"Don't lie. You suck at it," Anko explained helping Tsuzuki up and handing her the blue tank top, "If it's hurting more, I may have to tell hokage."

Tsuuki nodded and put her shirt back on, "Alright. I'll see you later sensei."

With that, she went back home.


	6. Heartache

Tsuzuki sighed as she wandered the streets of Konoha. As she did, the kunoichi girl looked up to see Lee's bedroom window. She blushed a bit but kept walking.

Lee saw Tsuzuki walk by, but thought nothing of it. He then went back to swooning over his photo of Sakura.

Tsuzuki stopped at the trianing grounds where she had watched him train daily.

**You're on the phone  
With your girlfriend  
She's upset  
She's going off about  
Something that you said  
She doesn't get your humor  
Like I do**

**I'm in my room  
It's a typical tuesday night  
I'm listening to the kind of music  
She doesn't like  
She'll never know your story  
Like I do**

She then wlaked over and ran a hand over the many dents and cracks that had resulted in his kicks and punches.

**But she wears short skirts  
I wear t-shirts  
She's cheer captain  
And i'm on the bleachers  
Dreaming about the day  
When you wake up and find  
That what you're looking for  
Has been here the whole time**

**If you could see  
That i'm the one  
Who understands you  
Been here all along  
So why can't you  
See you belong with me  
You belong with me.**

Tsuzuki began walking down a deserted street towards the tea house. She remembered one time she had helped Lee walk down that same street when he had overworked himself again.

**Walking the streets  
With you and your worn out jeans  
I can't help thinking  
This is how it ought to be  
Laughing on a park bench  
Thinking to myself  
Hey, isn't this easy?**

**And you've got a smile  
That could light up this whole town  
I haven't seen it in awhile  
Since she brought you down  
You say you're fine  
I know you better than that  
Hey whatchu doing  
With a girl like that**

She stopped outside the door and smiled to herself,

**She wears high heels  
I wear sneakers  
She's cheer captain  
I'm on the bleachers  
Dreaming about the day  
When you wake up and find  
That what you're looking for  
Has been here the whole time**

**If you could see  
That i'm the one  
Who understands you  
Been here all along  
So why can't you  
See you belong with me  
Standing by and  
Waiting at your backdoor  
All this time  
How could you not know  
Baby  
You belong with me  
You belong with me.**

Once more, she began walking down the street and stopped outside of Lee's favorite restaraunt.

**Oh, I remember  
You driving to my house  
In the middle of the night  
I'm the one who makes you laugh  
When you know you're about to cry  
And I know your favorite songs  
And you tell me about your dreams  
Think I know where you belong  
Think I know it's with me**

**Can't you see  
That i'm the one  
Who understands  
Been here all along  
So why can't you see?  
You belong with me.**

**Have you ever thought  
Just maybe  
You belong with me?**

"Just ask him out already!" Katlaya called out walking over to her team mate.

Tsuzuki shrieked and spun around, "What!?"

"You heard me," the blond replied with a smile, "Ask...him...out!"

Tsuzuki ighed and strated walking alongside her teammate, "It's not that simple...This guy...he likes someone else...'

"So? What does that have to do with it?" she asked, sounding surprised.

Tsuzuki turned to face laya, still angry with her about earlier, "Listen, if you think that falling in love is THAT simple, your wrong. I don't know if you have a fairy tale love where it all ends happily ever after, but I got news for ya sister, life's not like that. So piss off!" With that she hurried home.

Katlaya watched this and sighed, "Damn, talk about bi-polar."

* * *

It's wierd I know. I decided that i'm gonna try and hook her up with lee instead of Chouji. I like them both, but I just couldn't think of how to write her and Chouji together. XPPP


	7. You don't get it

Tsuzuki sat in her windowsill, staring at night sky.

Shikamaru sighed and knocked on the door, "Nee chan...I know your awake...wanna tlak?"

"No..." she rpelied simply, not moving from the sill.

Ignoring her reply, the Nara boy entered the girls room anyway, "Nice try. What's up?"

"I said I'm fine nee-sama. Why'd you ask?" Tsuzuki asked keeping her gaze on the dark sky.

"Cause I know you better than that. You came home, didn't eat dinner, didn't say hi, nothing. Somethings bothering you."

"You should stop worrying about me Shika-Nee sama. I can take care of myself," the indigo haired girl muttered shifting her position slightly so one knee was pulled to her chest.

"Not according to that Katlaya chick. She said she found you trying to slit your wrists. You need to tell me if somethings wrong," Shikamaru snapped grabbing his siters houlder, "Suicide isn't the answer."

"What would you know..." Tsuzuki muttered under her breath trying not to cry "I've cause alot of misery...Rei...she died because of me dammit!!!!"

SHikamaru heard this and sighed, "Whatever...if you wanna klill yourself...I won't stop you. But just because dad doesn't compliment you...doesn't mean he hatesn you."

Tsuzuki heard this and without thinking spun around and slapped SHimaru, "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!"

After a moment, she fell to her knees sobbing, "I can't keep living like this...trying to prove to him that...that I'm worth something...I can't take it..."

Shikamaru rubbed his cheek and walked towards the door, "Then stop living for dad. Live for yourself for once..."

Once he was gone, Tsuzuki went back to the window sill, tears streaming down her cheeks, "What would you do Rei?"

* * *

To be continued!


	8. First Mission

The next morning, Laya was waiting at the training grounds. She was waiting for her teamates and Anko to show up.

Tsuzuki was slowly getting ready for the day. She got dressed, grabbed her headband, then grabbed her shuriken pouch.

"Your still here?" Shikaku asked as he walked past his daughters room.

"I ws just leaving," she snapped as she tied her head band on.

"Why do you even bother" her dad muttered as he headed downstairs.

Tsuzuki waited till she couldn't hear his footsteps, then slammed her fist into the mirror.

The mirror shattered causing her hand to start bleeding profusely.

Ignoring the pain in her hand, Tsuzuki wrapped her hand and headed towards the training grounds.

* * *

"Hey Katlaya!" Katherine called out hugging her friend.

Katlaya cried out in surprise and fell over, "Owwww...hi....Katherine....can't...breath..."

"Katherine. Quit killing our teammate," Eric said as he yanked her off.

"Look who's here guys," Katelynne replied snidely looking at Tsuzuki as she walked over.

Katlaya looked at the bandage, but said nothing.

"You go and try to kill yourself again?" Katherine asked smirking a bit.

"Piss...off..." she hissed as she sat against a tree.

Katlaya glared at the trio, "Guys...give her a break..."

"ALRIGHT YOU SLACKERS!! LET'S GET TO WORK!" Anko cried appearing in the clearing, "We have a C ranked mission. We're to escort someone to the Sand Village!"

"Huh....seriously?" Katherine asked before Anko kicked her in the face.

"You questioning me!?" the woman snapped angrilly.

Tsuzuki seemed a little tense about it, but said nothing.

"So who're we escorting?" Eric asked with a yawn.

"an ambasador. Team Kakashi are already on a mission so we get this one," Anko replied, "Let's get going NOW!"

* * *

To be continued...


	9. Cold Hearts

3 Days after leaving Konoha-

* * *

"Are we there yet!"

As usual, Katherine was complaining about being tired, the trip taking to long, etc.

"Will you fucking shut up!" Tsuzuki snapped trying not to stab her teammate, "We're not any closer than we were five damn minutes ago!"

The person they were escorting was a merchant who had arrived in Konoha to set up a trade route.

Katlaya noticed Anko purposely ignoring Tsuzuki and Katherine arguing and decided to step in, "DO I HAVE TO KNOCK YOU TWO OUT!"

Katherine shut her mouth immediately, whilst Tsuzuki simply flipped Katlaya off and kept walking.

The merchant walked over to Tsuzuki and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Are yu alright?"

"Yes...I'm fine," Tsuzuki replied kindly, an obvious lie.

"If you and your friends are always arguing...nothing good can come of it," the elderly man explained looking at the others.

"They're NOT my friends," Tsuzuki hissed almost snakelike, "I got stuck with them against my will. I could care less what happens to them."

"Oh...never mind then," the merchant replied swiftly moving away a bit.

"Alright! We're here!" Anko snapped as the appeared outside of Konoha.

"This is where we part ways then. Thank yuo for your help," the old man replied bowing in respect and heading into Suna.

Once he was gone, the squad started home.

Eric looked at Katlaya, then Tsuzuki, then Katlaya again, "Hey Katelynne?"

"What is it?" the young nin asked with a yawn.

"Something doesn't seem right...Tsuzuki seems even more distant than usual..."

"That's her fucking problem then," Katelynne snapped angrily, "She can be as emo as she fucking wants."

"I dunno...her chakra seems kinda...dark and dense..." Eric muttered as he felt a chill run down his spine.

Tsuzuki hadn't been paying attention to the others, her mind was elsewhere entirely.

_What's this feeling? It's like...a pure blood lust..._she thought as they walked, _Is it the birthmark? No...that never happened before...it's something else..._

"Hello there," a cold snake like voice called out from behind them, "What brings five Konoha nin so far from home?"

Anko and the others all turned in a hurry, but the sensei was the only one who knew the cold figure there, "Orochimaru!"

* * *

DUN DUN DUN!


	10. Pain and heartbreak

There was a dead silence between the squad of Konoha nin and Orochimaru.

Anko glared angrily at her former master and drew a kunai, "What the hell do you want Orochimaru?"

"I came for my little girl of course...it seems you've helped raise her quite well," the pale faced nin replied with a hiss like chuckle.

"YOUR little girl! That would imply you were a father to her!"

Tsuzuki looked rather confused, thinking that perhaps Katherine was his kid, it would at least explain her 24/7/365 pms.

"Who the hell are you talking about?" Katherine snapped angrily before running at their foe.

Before Anko could stop her, Katherine was thrown into a tree, knocked out cold, "YOU BASTARD!"

In a hurry, Katlaya, Eric and Katelynne were at Katherine's side while Tsuzuki and Anko alone to defend them.

Orochimaru smirked and let out a hiss like laugh, "Alone at last...almost..."

Tsuzuki grew cold and swiftly reached for her sword, only to find the strange man behind her, breathing down her neck.

"So...the curse mark remained after all these years..."

Unable to move, the indigo haired nin could just stand there and tremble.

Anko swore under her breath and threw a few kunai at Orochimaru, "LEAVE HER ALONE!"

Orochimaru simply chuckled and dodged them, yanking Tsuzuki aside, "You wouldn't hurt my daughter now would you!"

Katlaya heard this and spun around, _THAT'S her father! Did she know?_

In a hurry, Tsuzuki yanked her sword from it's sheath and attempted to strike the freak down, "Back the fuck off!"

Unfortunately, Tsuzuki wasn't fast enough and collapsed to her knees gasping for air, her sword clattering to the ground beside her.

"Now now...you should respect your father, isn't that right my dear?"

Anko then managed to get a hold of Orochimaru and began to squeeze his throat tigher and tighter, "Stay...away from...my students!"

"YOUR students? Hehehehe...aren't you the protective one," Orochimaru hissed before he cried out, his neck snapping in half.

Katlaya walked over to Anko and sighed, "It can't have been that easy..."

"It wasn't. It was a damned substitute," Anko snapped ripping the face off of the body, revealing a middle aged woman before them, "That bastard uses people like toys!"

Tsuzuki hadn't entirely recollected from the attack, or from the mental blow.

"You okay?" Eric asked, for once actually sounding concerned.

"I-I'm...fine..." she hissed before grabbing her shoulder, "Dammit..."

Anko saw Tsuzuki and gasped, "That bastard must've weakened the seal!"

"Seal?" Katlaya asked looking confused.

"Tsuzuki has a curse mark...she was told it was a birthmark though. I've been sealing it periodically...he must've weakened the damn thing."

"T-Tsuzuki?" Eric asked seeing strange markings cover her arm and face.

"IT BURNS!" Tsuzuki cried before letting out a blood curdling scream.

Unsure of what to do, Anko attempted to seal it, but it was already spreading to her torso.

* * *

To be continued!


	11. Hurry

Tsuzuki was laying on the ground, her arm and neck covered in small black markings.

Anko ran over and grabbed Tsuzuki, "Dammit...Katlaya! Get Katherine back to Konoha! Eric! Katelynne! Help me hold Tsuzuki down!"

The dark haired boy scoffed and crossed his arms, "Why should I help that bitch?"

"Because she could kill you at a moments notice right now!" Anko barked angrily.

The two paused, then hurried over, grabbing their teammate by the arms and holding her down.

Anko grabbed a scroll from her pouch and and bit her fingertip, "This should hold it til we get to Konoha."

Tsuzuki cried out and grabbed Eric by the throat firmly.

Katelynne panicked and stabbed Tsuzuki in the arm with a kunai.

Anko took the opportunity to use the scroll and seal Tsuzuki, "Get back you two!"

There was a flash of light and Tsuzuki was out cold, her chakra blocked from the inside.

Eric was on his knees choking and gasping for air, only to be kicked by Anko, "GAK!"

"Quit whining! Katlaya is already way ahead of us," Anko barked grabbing Tsuzuki and running after her.

Katelynne and Eric bother started running after them as well.

* * *

To be continued!


	12. TRUE pain

Katlaya had already made it past the halfway point, the still unconscious Katherine on her back.

She swore under her breath the whole way, hoping she wouldn't be too late, "Hang in there Kath...just hang in there..."

* * *

Meanwhile, Anko and the others were hurrying to catch up.

It would still take 2 and a half days to reach Konoha, but Tsuzuki might not have had that long.

"What if the seal breaks?" Katelynne asked sounding worried, "What then?"

"You pray to god that your not in her line of vision," Anko snapped angrily, "This is a helluva time to worry about yourself!"

Eric remained silent, still somewhat scared of his ko'd teammate.

* * *

**3 Days Later-**

Anko and the others arrived mid afternoon, and were expected.

A team of medical nin were waiting for them.

"Take her to the infirmary. Tell them to use a tri seal as well as a five prong if they need it," Anko instructed as she handed the wounded teen off.

Katlaya ran over to them and sighed, "Is she ok?"

"Dunno yet. When'd you get back?"

"About an hour before you."

"Yo! Katlaya!"

The blond girl turned to see Shikamaru walking over.

The team was rather worn down from their nonstop journey back, but no one wanted to explain what happened to Tsuzuki.

"Hey...where's Tsu?" he asked looking around.

There was a wave of uneasiness in the group, but Anko stepped forward, "Your sister was rushed to intensive care. We ran into some unexpected trouble."

"What!" The look on Shikamaru's face was a mixture of fear and sadness.

No one could say anything else before he ran off to find his sister.

* * *

Tsuzuki was slowly gaining consciousness as she was place on what felt like a hospital bed.

The medical nin didn't notice as they began the finishing touches on the seals.

When no one said anything, Tsuzuki tried to sit up, only to find herself restrained, "What the...what's going on? Where am I?"

"Everything will be alright Ms. Nara. Just relax," one of the nin said before activating the seals.

Before Tsuzuki could react, a feeling of immense pain shot through her very being.

To accurately describe the feeling, it would be comparable to being burned alive whilst on the electric chair with no pain killers or sedatives.

For what seemed like days, Tsuzuki lay there in anguish, strapped to a hospital bed.

In all reality it was only 10 minutes before the job was done.

After the rituals were finished, Tsuzuki was unbound and taken to a regular hospital room.

There was no fear of her attacking since her chakra was drained temporarily, and her stamina was almost non-existent.

Once she was situated, one of the nurses assigned to her began to hook up several iv's.

One was for morphine, two were saline to keep her hydrated and two others were to help her regain control of her chakra and such.

* * *

"Whadda ya mean I can't see her!"

"Sorry. She's still in an uncertain zone. Tomorrow you can visit," the receptionist explained to an extremely devastated Shikamaru.

Seeing as how he wouldn't win that argument, Shikamaru grudgingly went home to wait on his sisters status.

* * *

To be continued...sorry I haven't updated lately. MAJOR writers block.


	13. Shogi

"So Tsuzuki found out did she?"

Anko was standing across from the Third Hokage, a grim look on her face, "Yeah. Orochimaru showed up out of the blue. It was a clone but some how he managed to undo the seal I placed on her curse mark."

The third listened and sighed, "I guess we can no longer hide it. When she is stable I will see her and explain things."

"Of course sir."

With that, Anko left to check on her other squad members.

* * *

"Shikamaru?"

Choji had found his friend sitting outside of the hospital looking rather pissed.

"Oh...hey Chouji," he muttered quietly, casting a short glance at Chouji before looking at the ground.

"Is Tsuzuki okay?"

"Dunno...they haven't told me anything."

After a minute, Choji sat beside Shikamaru and waited with him on news of his sister.

About half an hour later, a nurse came out and walked over, "Shikamaru? Your sister is awake. Would you like to see her?"

Both Shikamaru and Chouji stood up and followed the nurse inside.

* * *

When they reached Tsuzuki's room, Shikamaru and Chouji hesitated outside the door.

Chouji then glanced at his friend and nodded.

Slowly, Shikamaru opened the door.

To their surprise, Tsuzuki was sitting up and fully conscious.

"Hey bro, Chouji," the indigo haired woman said as they walked in, a small almost shallow smile on her face.

"Hey Tsuzuki. You feeling okay?" Shikamaru asked sitting on a chair on the right side of the bed.

Chouji sat on the other side and smiled, "You gave us a good scare."

"I-I'm fine, sorry to scare you so bad," she replied looking at her hands resting on her lap.

She was debating on telling Shikamaru about what happened in the forest, about what she found out.

"Hey...Earth to Tsuzuki," Shikamaru snapped waving his hand in front of her face.\

"Hm? Sorry, I'm still getting the morphine out of my system."

"Well, I'm gonna let you two talk. See ya later," Chouji said standing up and leaving.

After he left, Tsuzuki sighed and rubbed her forehead, "This sucks. I can't train, they won't even let me have a book right now. I'm not sure why."

Shikamaru heard this and smirked, "Wait here."

He returned in about ten minutes with a shogi set in hand.

"Awesome! Finally something to do other than stare at the ceiling.

"Figured you'd want something to do," the dark haired genin said placing the board on the table top that was usually used to place meals on.

After he set it up, Shikamaru looked at Tsuzuki, "You get the first move."

Tsuzuki nodded and placed her first pawn up one move.

Shikamaru sighed and moved his knight out, "So, what aren't you telling me?"

As Tsuzuki moved her bishop, she felt her throat tighten a bit, "I wish I could tell you..."

"Why can't you?" he asked moving his knight again.

"I don't understand it myself really," she said using her bishop to remove his knight.

"If you told me I could help."

The pieces clacked against the board as the two removed one anothers units with each move.

"Checkmate!"

Tsuzuki stared at the bored, surprised to see Shikamaru's silver general and knight had cornered her king, "I never could beat you..."

"You're too straight forward in your strategy. It's obvious where you're gonna go from the first move."

Tsuzuki then simply smiled and sat back a bit, "Guess that's why my grades were so bad at the Academy."

"You just need practice," he replied as he started to re set the pieces.

"Sorry to cut it short," Anko snapped appearing in front of the window, "But I gotta have a chat with my student."

The siblings exchanged a silent goodbye before Shikamaru left.

"Sensei, is this about what happened?"

"Yeah. You may want to take a pain pill now, we'll be here a while."

* * *

To Be Continued...


	14. Memories

"What is wrong sensei?"

Tsuzuki looked at Anko, a sense of foreboding dwelling at the back of her mind.

"You know what's wrong. It's about Orochimaru," the middle aged woman said leaning aginst the window sill.

That name alone was enough to catch the indigo haired Nara off guard, causing her face to pale and her heart to drop.

"I see...so you have been thinking about him. Unfortunately, what he said is true. He really is your father," Anko said looking dead serious, "You're not a part of the Nara clan."

This hit Tsuzuki like a bombshell.

True she had never looked like either of her parents, but she had never thought of the possibility of having different parents.  
Especially when one was a psycho path bent on the destruction of Konoha.

"Then...I-I..."  
"Don't worry, your parents already know. That's why they took you in. Your fatehr was...a little hesitant. They promised the hokage that they would take care of you though."

"But that means that...Shikamaru...what if he found out? How would he take it?" Tsuzuki asked trying to keep from bursting into tears.

"He can't know. The only ones that know are the Hikage, your parents and me. Now your squad knows too but they've been sworn to secrecy," her sensei replied with a sigh, "The hokage has given yoou a choice though. You can live with the truth or he can supress the memories for you."

Tsuzuki paused, staring at the sheet covering her legs, "Can I have some time to think on it?"

"Yeah. But not too long, we have other matters to discuss when you are ready."

After Anko left, Tsuzuki forced herself to stand up and stagger to the window.

Down below, she saw Shikamaru and Chouji talking near the tea house.

Meanwhile Naruto and his teammates were coming back from one of their missions, Lee was training again, everyone was going about their daily lives.

After their fight though, Tsuzuki could never be the same again.

"Tsuzuki. Shouldn't you be in bed?"  
Crying out, Tsuzuki spun around to see the Hokage standing in the doorway, "L-Lord Hokage!"

As she turned though, the genin had lost her balance and fell against the wall.

The old man sighed and wlaked over, helping her into the bed once more, "Just like your teacher, stubborn."

"You mean Anko Sensei sir?"

He nodded and sat down beside the bed, "I take it you two have already talked?"

"Yes, she gave me the two options," Tsuzuki replied, "And honestly...I want to go back to having a normal life. I don't want to live my life distant from everyone."

"I suspected as much. In that case, close your eyes and I'll take care of everything."

Tsuzuki nodded and laid back, her eyes shut lightly.

That was all she remembered before waking up the next day.

Shikamaru showed up and entered the room, "Good news sis. Doctors say you're free to go home."

To his surprise, his sister was already out of bed and changed into her normal outfit, "Yeah, they were already here. Thanks."

"Are you sure you'er okay?" Shikamaru asked, he wasn't used to seeing Tsuzuki up and around before 8 am.

"I'm fine. I feel better than I ever have," Tsuzuki replied strapping her kunai pack to her leg.

"If you say so. Anko told me she wants you and you're squad to meet at the tea house."

"Okay. Thanks."

Tsuzuki smiled at her brother once more before leaving for the tea house.

"Somethings not right...she's too cheerful," Shikamaru muttered under his breath.

* * *

To be continued...


	15. The Chunin Exams and a Truce

Tsuzuki had arrived at the training ground, but much to her surprise, she was the first one there.

"That's wierd...Usually the three stooges are here already..."

After about five minutes, Katlaya, Kathrine, Kattleynne, and Eric showed up.

Katlaya walked over to Tsuzuki as the others headed to the otherside of the clearing, "You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

"It's just...after what happened...I thought you'd still be in shock," the blond girl muttered looking at the ground.

"After what happened? Did Katherine apologize or something?" Tsuzuki asked looking confused at her team mate.

"But...what about-"

"Listen up squad!"

All of the genin cried out as their sensei appeared out of nowhere.

"Anko Sensei! D you gotta be so insane!" Kattlynne cried as she recovered from the shock.

"Shut up! Do you want me to REALY go insane?" Anko hissed getting in close to the genins face and smirking evily.

After a moment of awkward silence, Anko stood up straight and pulld out a few forrms from her pouch, "Now then, the Chunin exams are coming up and you guys have the choice of joining. If you accept, take these fors and show up at Room 301 at the acadamey in three days. Understand?"

"Wait, the Chunin exams? I thought first year genin weren't allowed to join," Eric said shifting his glasses as he turned to Anko, "How many other new genin are signing up?"

"Squads 7,8, and 9 are all signing up. This is you're choice but if you pass on it, you have to wait one whole year before signing up again," the spiked hair woman said handing the papers out to her students.

"Count me in..." Tsuzuki and Katlaya said simultaneously.

The other three looked over the forms, butseemed a tad unsure.

"You have one week to think on it. Got it?" Anko said before vanishing.

Tsuzuki looked over the form again and sighed, "Guess I'll see you guys in a week."

"Wait...We need to talk," Katlaya said after telling the other three to head off on their own.

Though she was hsitant, Tsuzuki felt Katlaya was uneasy, so she followed her to he tea house.

* * *

"Sooooo...you don't remember anything from last weeks mission?" Katlaya asked as the waitress brought them a plate of dumplins and two tea cups.

"Not really. According to Anko Sensei we ran into some pretty nasty assasins and Katherine and I got the worst of it."

"Seriously? Wow..." Katlaya muttered taking a skewer of dumplings and biting one off, "Seems like they did aumber on you."

"Huh?"

"The assasins..."" Katlaa bluffed, her poker face firm as a stone, "You got a pretty good knock on the head. You gonna be okay fo the exams though?"

Tsuzuki paused and set her tea cup down, "I'll be fine. If my brother passes me up, I'm gonna have to kick his ass pretty damn hard."

"I see...so can we at least call a truce until after the exams?" Katlaya asked looking Tsuzuki in the eye with a devious smirk.

"Since it will be a team effort...I don't see why not."

The two genin shook hands before taking a bite out of the last of eah of their dumplings.

* * *

To be continued...


	16. A Touch Decision

Tsuzuki had finished her meeting with Katlaya and was taking a relaxing walk in the forest.

After about twenty minutes, something caught the Nara girls attention.

Echoing through the trees was what sounded like someone fighting, and sounding exhausted.

She crept up to a clearing and peered out to see what the noise was.

In the grassy area, Rock Lee was training harder than ever, a determined look plastered on his face.

"Amazing how hard he works, isn't it?"

The sudden appearance of Might Gai scared Tsuzuki out of her wits, "Oh...Gai Sensei! Fancy meeting you here!"

"You know Tsuzuki I gotta tell ya something. I've seen you fight and I think you might be an even match for him! You have the power of youth inside and I'm sure you will let it explode one of these days!"

"No thanks sensei," Tsuzuki muttered trying to keep from bursting into laughter.

"Gai Sensei!"

Lee saw his sensei and ran over to greet him, not noticing Tsuzuki was standing right beside his idol.

"Great job Lee! But you've gotten lazy! I want you to do 600 laps around Konoha without a break!" Gai snapped before he started lecturing his pupil.

Tsuzuki tried to slip away without Lee seeing the light blush that came to her cheeks, but he saw her out of the corner of his eye, "Ah, Tsuzuki! Are you going to participate in the Chunin Exams?"

The purple haired managed to keep her composure, before turning to face him, "Are you kidding? Of course! I can't let Naruto pass me up!"

Gai saw something Lee hadn't and smirked, "On second thought, why don't ya spar with Tsuzuki here? You train with Neji too often, a change of pace couldn't hurt ya!"

Lee was ecstatic about the idea, Tsuzuki on the other hand...on the inside she was screaming in fear.

"I'll just leave you guys to it," Gai said before vanishing.

"Tsuzuki, I would be honored to spar with you," Lee said giving her a thumbs up.

"S-sure thing. But don't expect me to hold back," Tsuzuki replied hurrying into the clearing.

Lee followed her and chuckled, "I would be offended if you did."

With that, the two genin started going at it.

Tsuzuki barely managed to dodge or block Lee's kicks and punches, but she didn't let him get a punch in.

About ten minutes in, Tsuzuki yanked her sword from it's sheath out of desperation and went for his throat.

Lee blocked her sword with the sole of his sandal, knocking it from Tsuzuki's hand and bringing his other leg up, kicking her in the gut.

Tsuzuki felt the blow connect and skidded a few feet away into a tree.

"Are you alright?" he asked hurrying over.

It took a minute, but the Nara girl came to, sitting up very slowly, "Yeah...that's one helluva kick. I guess that means I gotta train harder."

Lee watched her and smirked, "Yes, it would seem that you have a ways to go."

After she regained herself completely, Tsuzuki picked her sword up from where it had landed, "Let's just hope I don't have to go toe-to-toe during the exams. I wouldn't have a shot in hell."

"You just need to train ahrder. I am certain Gai Sensei would be willing-"

"NO! I mean no thanks...Anko's already training me pretty damn hard as it is. Any harder and I might die from exhaustion," Tsuzuki said laughing a bit.

"If you say so. I had better go. I need to meet up with Gai Sensei. See you later Tsuzuki," Lee said as he ran off to find Gai.

Once he was gone, Tsuzuki sank to her knees and groaned, "I can't believe I just made myself look like an idiot in front of him..."

"It wasn't THAT bad...I'd say you looked more like a moron than an idiot," Anko said smirking at her pupil.

"WHY THE HELL DOES EVERYONE JUST FUCKING APPEAR BEHIND ME!" Tsuzuki snapped swinging her sword at Anko.

Anko blocked it with ease, "Knock it off...I just wanted to talk."

Tsuzuki was surprised that Anko hadn't smacked her upside the head or screamed at her yet, "What's up?"

"First, I am irritated that you sparred RIGHT after getting out of the hospital. Second, how's your head doing?"

Tsuzuki sighed and sheathed her blade, "Fine. Katlaya already explained it to me. Sensei...about the exams..."

"I was just about to talk to you about that. You guys'll be on your own till the exams are over. I'm one of the proctors so training is up to you guys," Anko explained crossing her arms and leaning against a tree.

"Fine. Not like it's gonna make much difference. At this rate," Tsuzuki muttered looking at the bruise on her hand she had received from one of Lee's kicks, "If I can't even hold my own against him, I'm probably not exactly Chunin material."

"Shut up."

"Wha-"

Tsuzuki recieved a punch to the stomach as Anko got pissed again, "Owww..."

"You want to prove your worth right? How can you do that if you've already given up! If you don't sign up you are no longer my student!"

Hearing this Tsuzuki practically froze.

Anko had been part of Tsuzuki's life since she could remember, to hear that she would just abandon her like that completely caught her off guard.

"Well then...you gonna sign up?"

There was a moment of silence before the Nara girl replied, "Seems I've got no choice really..."

Anko smirked and placed a hand on her sutdents head, "Great. Wanna go for some tea?"

Tsuzuki looked up and smiled, "Sure..."

With that the two nin left for the Tea House.

* * *

To be continued...


	17. The Big Day

Finally, the big day had arrived.

Today was the first day of the Chunin exams.

Tsuzuki was already awake and dressed, her kunai pouch strapped to her right leg and her hair tied up into a ponytail.

"Alright. Let's do this!"

As she reached for the door to her room though, she heard her parents talking downstairs.

Though she couldn't understand them, Tsuzuki left out the window to avoid unwanted conflict.

* * *

"Where is Tsuzuki? She's never late like this..." Katherine said as she stood outside the test room with her team mates.

"Relax. You know she's not a morning person," Katlaya said letting out a loud yawn.

"Speaking of which...did you have any coffee or ANYTHING this morning?" Erric asked looking at her sternly.

Katlaya simply replied with a kitten like smile and a nervous chuckle.

"Hey guys!"

Tsuzuki ran down the hall, her ponytail flapping behind her, "Sorry I'm late! I slept in."

"Again? You need an alarm clock or something," Katelynne said sarcastically.

"Yeeaaaah...my last one didn't do so well," Tsuzuki said chuckling nervously.

"Enough small talk! Let's get in there and see what kinda small fries we get to knock out!" Katlaya barked grabbing the door handle.

The other four just let out a small sigh of exasperation as they followed the blond spaz.

Inside though, there were ALOT more genin than they had thought.

"Katlaya...shut your damn mouth before I sew it shut," Tsuzuki muttered into her ear before pulling her to an empty corner and forcing her to sit down.

"God! You're not my mother!" Katlaya snapped crossing her arms and huffing a bit like a kid would do.

"Isn't it usually YOUR job to be the mother?" Tsuzuki asked sizing up some of the competition.

While they waited for the proctors to show up, the group just waited.

Meanwhile, a group of ninja from the sound village wouldn't stop staring at the oddballs.

One, presumably the leader, had his face wrapped in bandages, leaving only one eye visible, "Remember...we only need to watch for now..."

The other two, one a woman with long hair and a permanent menacing look on her face, the other with spiked short black hair, both nodded and began scanning the room as well.

* * *

To Be Continued


End file.
